Toy railway signal towers



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Dec. 18, 1956 L. cowEN 2,774,181

TOY RAILWAY SIGNAL TOWERS Filed Feb. 3. 1954 Tigri'.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 "Url "E "'Hul!" EEE 4g BY y A'ITORNEY Dec. 18, 1956 L. cowEN 'roy RAILWAY SIGNAL TOWERS Filed Feb@ s', 154

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToR Dec. 18, 1956 l. cowEN Toy RAILWAY SIGNAL TowERs 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 3. 1954 INVENTOR mms/vae Cows/v 7l/5 5f 1% ATTORNEY United States Patent() TOY RAILWAY srGNAL Tow-ERS Lawrence Cowen,. New York, N. Y.,- assiguor to The Lionel Corporation, New York, N. Y., a. corporation of New York Application February 3, 1954, Serial No. 407,942'

9 Claims. (Cl. 46-12)V The present invention relates tov toy railway signal towers and is more particularly directed toward railway signal towers which simulate the action ofl a signal man moving from an observation balcony on the tower down a stairway to signalv the train;

The presentinvention contemplates atoy"'signa1 tower adapted to be placed along the rightof way oi the toy railway and to be operated by remote contral so as to shift a manikin from the front of the tower. intothe tower and another manikin from the top of the stairway down to the bottom of thestairway, and to automatically return the manikinsto normal position when the remote control is released.

The present invention contemplates a tower for the` above purposes having a base, a tower, structure simulate ing a two-story buildingand provided with` atoy stairway at theside. The building enclosesthe operating mecha-v nism whereby the manikins are shifted back and. forth. This mechanism is preferably spring-biasedto a normal position with one manikin inY an observation position in. front of the tower and the other mauikinrat thetop-of the stairway, and is actuated toshitt the manikins by an electromagnet controlled externally of the tower.

Other and further objects will be disclosed asthe description proceeds.

The accompanying drawings show, forY purposesof il-` lustrating the present invention, one embodimentzin-which the invention may take form, it beingV understood thatv the drawings are illustrative of the inventionrather than limiting the same'.

In vthe accompanyingA drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view'of'thetoy tower;

Figure 2 is a front elevational View of the toy tower: with the manikinsin full lines in thenormal position: and in dot and dash lines in the shifted position;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view ofthe tower withI the manikins in similar positions and with parts broken away to show interior construction;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the-toy tower with the roof removed and portions of the stairway and shedabout the stairway broken away to show interior construction;

Figure 5 is an inverted plan view of the toyftower;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of Figures 4 and 5 withparts broken back to show interior construction;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 4;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 8 8 of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary section taken orr theY line 9 9 of Figure 7; and

Figure l0is asfragmentary sectional view taken onthe line 10-10 of Figure 4. v

The toy tower has a base 10 made of plastic material and a four-sided house simulating body 11 also made of plastic material. This body member has a front lowerstory doorway and door indicated at 12 and has second- 2,774,18l Patented Dec. 18, 1956 ICC story glazed-windows as indicated at 13. It also hasat the secondi story level a front doorway opening14and'horiizontal floor or partition 15 atV the second story floor level. The body is secured to the base by fourmetal'rods 16a, 1`6b, 16C, 16d, headed: at the upper ends. Certain of the rods act as electric conductors, as will be described.

A toy stairway 17 in the form of a` plastic molding is mounted alongside the two-story tower unit'. ThisV stairway unitis secured in place by a projecting element 18 which passes through afhole orl opening 19 in the base-10. g

ItV is securely heldagainst lateral movement by a bari 20 received in aYK rectangular recess indicated at 20. The upper end of the stairwayY member 17 is provided with a base or extension 21 (see Fig. 8), which passes through a hole in the side of the tower body 11 and is cemented inplace. To hold the stairwayi away from the tower body, the stairway element is providedwith' a spacer indicated at 21' (Fig: 6),. A shed or cover member 22, also made of; plastic' material, is secured to the side of the tower and about the upper end of the'stairway 17. Thisshed or cover memberZZ'has prongs-23a, b, c which are passed through holes in theside of the moldingtll and snapped pastthe inner wallof the tower member so that the cover is securely held in place. To complete the toy building, a roof 24 is `loosely supported onthetop of the tower body.

The remote. control' operating mechanism for actuating the manikins is carriedon a metal plate 25.. This plate is heldin place by prongs 26, 26 which, extend down through an opening-27 in the floor element 15, andby the longer of the metal rods 1'6b.. This rod 166 passes down through arocker arm assembly indicated at'Rin Figures 4, 6 and 10. The rocker arm assembly has a bracket 28 of U- shaped cross-section lying on its side. It's lower side 2,9 rests on the raised' boss25 of plate 25,V whileits upper side 30 is.riveted as indicated at 30a and 3019 (Fig. 4)' to a rockerA arm 31. A sleeve 32 passes through the rocker. arm` 3l andthe upper side of the bracket' 28 as indicated in FigurelO. Therocker arm assembly is biased tothe position. indicated by a spring 334A extending rearwardly and. secured to an anchorage 33a. carried by the rod 16e. The rocker arm 31 has a forwardl extension indicated at 34` which normally passes through the, door opening or doorway 14Y and carries the manikin 35 so that this manikin is'normally in a position infront of the tower andwithin a balcony-formingelement indicated at 3.6.

The extremeV left end 37 of the rocker army 31- is connected by aY cord 38 whichpasses through an opening 391in the sidewall of the'tower and is connected atits other end to a4 slider 40 carried, by a stairway element 17. This slider isv adapted to move up and downy the stairway-element17 in a groove indicated at 41 (see Figs. 4 and 6). The slider 40 has a bracket-likeVv portion 42which carries a ligure or manikin 43. This ligure is normally held in the upper position by the tension of thespringr33- acting'on the rocker arm assembly;

The-v metal plate 25V has an upwardly bent ilangeI 50 which, together with a coil bracket member 51 supports aw magnet coil 52. One end of this coil is grounded to the plateZS; and-is connected through rod 16h with a spring fastener S3 which carries a wire receiving terminal 54. The other, end of the coil 52 is connected by wire 55 and soldering lug 55 with the rod 16d which in turn carries aspring fastener 56 provided with wireref ceiving terminal 57.

The; coil 52. receives an armature or plunger 58 connected. by a. link-V 59vwith the-rocker arm mechanism` so that when the coil is energized, the rocker arm is shifted from the full line position of Figure 4 to the dotted line position. This brings the manikin 35 into the interior of the tower and allows the manikin 43 to slide down the stairwaytothe dotted line position shown ingFigures 2, 3 and`4. When the coil is de-energized, the spring restores the parts to the normal position. This operation simulates the movement1 of a tower man from the balcony in front of the tower out through the tower and down the stairway to signal the train and his return after the train has passed by. s,

In order to light the interior `of the tower, the device Vis provided with a lamp 60 carried in a lamp socket 61. The socket is supported on abracket 62 having spring lingers 63, 63 adapted to pass 'through an open#V ing 64 in the plate 25. One sidev of the socket4 is grounded and the other side, yis connected by a lug 66 andY a wire 67 with thesolderinglug67 securedrto therod 16a. This rod carries Va wire receiving terminal indicated at 68 (Figure 5). The lamp is accessible, for replacement through the large opening 70 formed Vin the base 10.V U i 1 Y Y Y Y e Since it is obvious that the invention may be embodied in other forms and constructions within the scope of the claims, I wish it to be understood that the particular form shown is but one of these forms,'and various moditications and changes being possible, I do not otherwise limit myself in any way with respect thereto.

What is claimed is:

l. A toy railway signal tower having a toytower body simulating a two-story building and provided with an upwardly and rearwardly extending,y Yexternal stairway and with a front doorway at the second story level, two manikins, means for supporting'one manikin from the tower Vbody for oscillatoryV movement back and forth Y through the doorway, meansV for supporting the other manikin for sliding movement up and down the stairway, spring means for protractring the first manikin and concurrently holding the second'manikin at the top Vof the stairway, and electromagnetic means 'for retracting the first manikin and releasing the second manikin so Vthat it may slide down along the stairway.

2. A toy tower such as claimed in the rst manikin is carried on a spring biased lever and the lever is connected by a cord with the second manikin.

3,.V A toy tower for simulating action normally taking place onY a' railwayrsignal tower, comprising a base, a tower body having a front' doorway, an external 'stairway leadingY from the base tothe rear of the Ytower body at the level of the bottom of the doorway, a rst mani-I kin pivotally secured to the body forV movement through the doorway, a second manikinr guidedfor movement up and down the stairway andgravity biasedY toward the bottom ofthe stairway, a spring biasing the rst manikin out through the doorway, means operable by the spring for normally holding the second manikin atV the top of the stairway, and means for shifting the first manikin into the tower body and'releasing vthe second manikin for movement down the `stairway so thatV when down the stairway. r f

claim 1, wherein and a oor connecting the wallsatia level substantially above the level of the base, a oor supported arm pivoted to swing about a vertical axis, a manikin carried by the arm for movement back and forth through the doorway, a spring biasing the manikin to a forward position, and a floor-carried electromagnet connected to the arm to retract the arm and manikin, aV second manikin guided for movement up and down the stairway and gravity biased toward thebottom of the stairway, and a cord connecting the secondrmanikin and the arm and acting on the second manikin to retract it up the stairway when the spring protracts the rst manikin into thettower body. Y

7. A toy railway signal tower comprising a base, a

four-sided toy tower body simulating a two-story build-V ing and having a front doorway opening at the second story level, the body having a oor member intercon- Vnecting the sides below the doorway, a plate secured to the upper face of the floor, a rocker arm pivoted to, the plate near the front of the tower to one side of the doorway, a manikin carried by the rocker arm andrmovable back and forth through the doorway, a spring biasing 1 the rocker arm forwardly, an electromagnet carried by the plate and connected to the rocker arm to swing -it rearwardly and move the manikin into the tower body, a stairway simulating part secured to the side of the'- tower body adjacent the pivot and extending upwardly -A from the base to the rear of the tower body at the level of the second story, a second manikinY guided for movement up and downthe stairway and gravity biased downwardly, and a cord connecting the second manikin and theV rockerarm and acting to normally hold the second,V manikin in its upper positions' S. 'Atoy railway signal tower ,such as claimed in claim 7, whereinV thejtower body and base are madelof insulat-iY ing; material, and having conducting rods which Vpass through the floor and base to secure the tower'body onto the base, and electrical connections between two of thel rods and the coil ofthe electromagnet.V

' 9. A toy railwayY signal tower comprising a basefa one-piece plastic molded Vtower body having four walls simulating the VVside walls of a two-story building and a door plateY interconnecting the side walls at the levelof the` tioor of the-second story, the front `wall having an open doorway at thesecond story level, metal rods headed at their upper ends and extending throughthe floor plate and the base, fasteners secured to the Ylower ends ofthe rods to secure the tower body to the base, an externally 'Y disposed stairway-forming member having its lowerrend secured to the front of the base and Y,its upper end to the rear of one of the side walls, VVa metalplate secured to the upper face of the floor, a plate supported .electromagnet having an armature and a coil'oneA side of which is vgrounded to the plate and the othcr.sideV of whichV is 4. A toy tower such as claimed in claim4 l, including theV connected to one ofthe rods,`a.rocker armY assembly pivotally mounted on another rod andicon'nected to.. the

armature to shift the` arm rearwardly, a spring acting on the rocker arm to bias it forwardly,- a manikin onrthe rocker arm movable back andV forth through' the doorway, a slider Vguided Yfor movement up and downV the Y stairway, a second manikin carried by the slidenra'nd aV cord connecting the second manikin on the rockerarm assembly to raise the second manikin when the rst manif kin is protracted.

a tower body having walls simulatingthe appearance of a two-story railway signal tower, a second Ystory front balcony doorway leading thereto, an outside' stairway leading from the base up to the second story level,

References Cited in the tilelof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS y D. 169,129 Cowen Y Mar. '31, 1953 2,138,367 Bonanno 'Nov.-29, 1938 2,204,319 Parsons/et al. June .11, 1940 2,544,034 Levering Y v Mar; 6,- 1951 

